“It is all very extraordinary,” she said hastily. “But you are right in one thing, Helga, I do not in the least understand it.”
Helga did not appear at all anxious to explain, so I took the opportunity to make my own position clearer, not for the Duchess’s benefit, but for Helga’s.
“It is as simple as disastrous, madame,” I said. “M. Boreski, having quarrelled last night with this Drexel, the latter went to M. Vastic, one of the leaders of the Nihilist Brotherhood, and told him he would find the Emperor at mademoiselle’s villa. He went there, and finding we had come on here, he and others followed us, and he attempted my life. I shot him, and I have since dragged from Drexel the admission that many of his associates are coming here, and it is extremely probable they will make some attack upon us to avenge him. Their vengeance would of course include both M. Boreski and Mademoiselle Helga, as well as myself. That is why I cannot leave until she is safe.”
“Drexel is here, then?” said Boreski quickly.
“If you wish him to confirm what I have said, monsieur, you can question him. But I think we ought to be seeing to things.”
“It is horrible,” exclaimed the Duchess, intensely frightened. “If I am discovered here everything will be ruined. Loris, you must take me back to the city at once.” One excuses a woman for thinking first of herself, of course, and I quite appreciated the awkwardness of her position. But Helga was not so tolerant. She looked at the Duchess coldly and a little scornfully.
“M. Boreski had better take you away at once, Duchess,” she said.
“I had better go,” said Boreski. “What must be done is to explain to Vastic’s friends the manner in which we have all been duped.”
It was my cue, of course, and I saw my way instantly. But it struck Helga from quite a different point of view.
“That would be only to turn this into a private feud against M. Denver for the death of Vastic. That is as impossible as it would be dishonourable.”